Interruptions
by Kayla2
Summary: Sonny uses his trial for Claudia's murder as an opportunity to put his relationship with Alexis in order.
1. Chapter 1

This story takes place about six months after Sonny's been indicted for murder. Alexis and Sonny have been spending a lot of time together due to trial prep. Sexis has already learned Kristina's boyfriend Kiefer has been abusing her…though they haven't taken any specific action yet.

**Chapter 1 - Words Unspoken**

"I know you didn't kill Claudia." Alexis looked directly into his large, dark eyes.

"Mmm." Sonny shrugged, unwilling to confirm or deny what they both knew to be true. A soft smile crossed his lips as he realized it still mattered what she thought of him. "How can you be so sure, 'Lexis?" His face suddenly became serious. "Haven't you heard I'm a bad man?"

Unable to let him off the hook for his years of misdeeds, she stared at the legal pad that sat in front of her. She cleared her throat before she answered, "Not only have I heard you can be bad, I've seen it…firsthand. But honestly, I know you're not stupid." She cupped his cheek with her palm. "Did you publically humiliate Claudia and then kill her? It's highly unlikely. I know you better than that." She sighed. "Why can't you just tell me the truth? I already know it was Michael."

"Candyboy tell you?" Sometimes, he truly envied her relationship with Jax. Best friends by definition, they'd only seemed to have gotten closer over the years. Their friendship had survived her involvement with both him and his brother and Jax's marriage to Carly. The problem was Alexis wasn't supposed to be Jax's best friend, she was supposed to be his.

"Who told me isn't important; what's important is that it wasn't you." She sighed once more. "Sonny, I'm your attorney. I've spent the last several months working on this case. You should have probably told me that you're taking the fall for Michael before the eve of closing arguments. Why didn't you tell me what happened in the beginning?"

"And prove that you were right about me not belonging in my kids' lives?" For a moment, he held her gaze. Then, just as quickly as he'd caught her eye, he looked away because he suddenly felt very ashamed.

Once more, she touched his face softly. "You do know I figured out Michael was guilty before I agreed to take your case."

"Of course." Alexis was a smart woman. The truth was she knew him better than anyone else. Although, he'd been married to Carly and he'd loved other women, he'd let Alexis into places in his heart and soul that he never had and never would allow anyone else to go. Still, for the last several months, he'd been operating under the illusion that she would defend him even if she thought the worst of him…and it had been comforting.

"But…"

"But what?"

"I would have defended you anyway."

"What are you saying?"

"Despite all of the horrendous things you've done, I don't believe you belong in prison." Now, it was her turn to look away.

This time it was his hand that brought her gaze back to him. He spoke softly, "Why?"

"Because I still think you're redeemable. You try to be a good father to your children. And although you have a twisted sense of morality, I know you do try to live by a certain code."

He couldn't help smiling as he thought of how any mention of his code used to drive her crazy. The truth was he wasn't sure she was right. Because of him, Michael was headed down the same path he'd started on. Due to his absence, Kristina had been physically abused by her boyfriend. And now, the son he never knew he had was the prosecution's lead witness against him. "I want to do better."

"I know you do. And I want Dante to have the chance to get to love you the way Kristina and the boys do."

Sometimes it was uncanny the way they could read each other. For a moment, he wondered how she could have guessed his thoughts had led him to Dante; then he wondered something more important. "Why do you care?"

Alexis suddenly felt the urge to move. She walked away from him toward his desk. She stood silently for a moment and then she absentmindedly pushed a scrap of paper to the edge. "I'd like to think that we're friends, even after all that's happened between us."

"We've always been friends. Even when we thought we hated each other."

"I know. It helped cost me my second marriage." In her heart, she always knew Ric was right about how deeply she cared for Sonny.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"Cost me my second marriage too."

"I think you're being a bit of a revisionist. Have you forgotten about Sam, Jax, Lorenzo, the feds and the three or four times you remarried your second wife?"

"Things were never the same after you."

Surprised at his words, she turned to look at him. When he no longer sat on the sofa, but instead stood only a few feet from her, she felt her pulse race. She took a step back, causing her to hit her thigh on the desk. "Ouch."

"You okay?" His voice was soft as he closed the space between them. He eyed the place where her thigh and the desk made contact. He noticed that his gaze made her shift uncomfortably. Now, it was his pulse that raced as he realized he could still affect her. As he reached to touch her back, she pushed a hand in front of her to keep him from closing any more of the distance between them.

"What do you want from me, Sonny?" She noticed that her hand still rested on his chest, only after he placed one of his own on top of it.

"I need you to help me to be better."

"That's a tall order." She couldn't help staring at him. Why could he still get to her?

"You're a capable woman." He brought her palm to his mouth and placed a tender kiss in the center.

"What exactly are you asking me to do? Because if you think I'm going to have I-might-be-forced-to-be-celibate-for-a-long-time-due-to-prison sex with you, you're out of your mind." For a moment she thought she was going to hyperventilate.

"Breathe Alexis." He couldn't help smiling. She could make him do that even with a life in prison hanging over his head. "I don't want you to have sex with me."

"You don't?" She wasn't sure whether to be relieved or offended.

"I mean, I would never turn you away, but that's not what I'm trying to ask you."

"What exactly are you saying?"

"I'm saying that when this is all over and I get a second chance, which I know will happen because my attorney is the best, I need to know you'll be here." She remained uncharacteristically silent; so, he kept talking. "I want you in my life as more than my attorney." Closing the space between them, he took another step. With his right hand he touched her hair. "I need you to—"

"Mom, are you in here? Viola told me you came to work on Sonny's case."

At the sound of Sam's voice, they both took a step back. Sam suddenly had the feeling that she'd interrupted something…possibly something important. She eyed Alexis and then Sonny.

"I should be going. Tomorrow's a big day." Alexis was the first to speak. "Sonny, I'll see you at the courthouse tomorrow. Sam, let's go."

Before he could stop her, she was gone. "We'll talk," he called out behind her. She could avoid him for now, but she couldn't avoid him forever.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hi all, I know I should be working on my other stuff but I wrote most of this four-parter on a plane last week. I hope you enjoy. And as always, replies are greatly appreciated._

**Chapter 2 - Cards On The Table**

"You were brilliant this morning." Sonny watched Alexis as she paced from one end of his living room to the next.

"If I was so brilliant, why hasn't the jury come back yet? It's been twelve hours."

Sonny chuckled. "Just think…you are the one who once taught me how to wait."

She plopped on the sofa beside him. "Why are you so calm?"

"Because I got the best lawyer in New York State. You discredited Dante and Maxie and the rest of the State's case was circumstantial. So, why don't you stop worrying about things that are out of your hands and start worrying about other things?"

"Like what?"

"Like finishing the conversation we started yesterday before Sam interrupted."

Once more Alexis was on her feet. "I…I don't really see the point of rehashing a pointless conversation."

He moved to block her path. "Why do you always do that?"

"Do what?"

"Keep me from telling you how I feel about you?" He focused on her intently.

She folded her arms across her chest protectively. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do." He raised his voice. "You did it the day you sent me back to Carly."

Alexis didn't need to ask what day Sonny was referring to; it was emblazoned in her mind. That was the day Carly showed up at her own funeral and Sonny went running back to her. She snapped at him, "What do you mean I sent you back to Carly? You couldn't get back to her fast enough. Don't blame me because it didn't work out between the two of you."

He marveled at what he saw in her eyes. It was a mixture of hurt and fear. He spoke softly, "I'm not blaming you for anything. I'm just saying that whenever we get close you push me away. This thing between us started again as soon as we started spending time together. I just want to talk about it."

"You've never been a talker. Why now?"

"Because," he touched her cheek. "It's time. Time for us to talk about how we feel about each other. I want to be with you." She recoiled from his touch. "What are you so afraid of, Alexis?

"What am I so afraid of? Because of my attraction to dangerous men, my eldest daughter is involved with your henchman. And our daughter was abused by her boyfriend. So, why don't you just leave it all alone?"

"Jason and Sam have nothing to do with you. Sam was with Jason before she ever knew you were her mother. As for Kristina, maybe she would have done better if she had seen her mother and father in a loving relationship instead of constantly doing battle against one another."

"You're blaming me for what happened to Kristina?"

"No, I'm just refusing to allow you to use Kristina as an excuse to run away from me."

Alexis suddenly became very animated. "You think I'm using our daughter as an excuse to stay away from you? I don't need an excuse. The buildings that explode when you're around are reason enough. Sonny, people who cross you vanish into thin air. Right now, Kristina is terrified that Kiefer is going to disappear because you found out what he did to her."

"And he should."

"Do you hear yourself?" Alexis threw her hands in the air. "How am I supposed to live with the constant threat of violence hanging over me and the girls?"

"Alexis, you and I both know it's not about the violence. You're a Cassadine and you dated Jerry Jacks. The man is a homicidal maniac and you still chose to be with him. You were with my brother after he cheated on you…twice and after you knew he kidnapped Carly and Courtney. So, why can't you be with me?"

"It's too dangerous," she shouted. He was frustrating her with the way he was countering her answers to his questions.

"What's too dangerous? When I'm with you, I feel more at peace and that affects the way I work." He spoke softly, "I can be different, but I need your help to do better."

"Don't you get it, Sonny? I can't do it. I can't love you and risk losing you. I've seen you shot full of bullets, wearing a suit of dynamite and recovering from a stab wound. She laughed awkwardly. "I've even spoken to a coffin that held your body." It almost killed me and I couldn't have done any of that if I had given myself to you fully or if I allowed you to love me. Do you realize how much I've lost: my mother, my father, my sister, my brother, Zander? I can't lose you, too. I can't keep losing people I love."

"Are you saying you love me?" He already knew the answer to his question by the way she was shaking. She looked away.

"It's okay. I promise. Just tell me how you feel."

"I, I lo--"

"Sonny, Alexis…" Jason called out. "I picked up some food from the No Name. I figured we could eat while we waited for the jury." As he entered the room, Jason looked at Sonny and Alexis peculiarly. "Did I interrupt something?"

Alexis rubbed her eyes and then she rushed to Jason to grab the food. "No, Jason, I have to say, you have perfect timing."


	3. Chapter 3

_Hi all, just one more chappie left. You may want to hit me at the end of this one, but remember the title of the piece. LOL. Thanks for reading and replying. I appreciate it._

**Chapter 3 - Decisions **

As the jury entered the courtroom, the judge ordered Sonny to rise. He and Alexis stood together, side by side, in sort of a metaphor for what they'd been to each other during each of the trying times in their lives. To his surprise, she quietly slipped her hand into his. It was unexpected gesture that surprised them both.

"Members of the jury have you reached a verdict?" The judge's baritone voice rang out.

As Alexis held Sonny's hand she felt it become uncharacteristically clammy. For all his declarations that he would be exonerated, this was proof that he was scared.

"Yes, your honor." The foreman spoke.

"What say you?"

This is it, Sonny thought to himself. Thirty years of a reckless life had all come down to the possibility of him losing his freedom for a crime he didn't commit. His initial thought had been to run. His faith in Alexis kept him in town; her faith in him kept him alive.

"Not guilty." The foreman said without emotion.

Sonny struggled to catch his breath. Alexis had done it. He hadn't doubted her for a second. He knew she was the best. Still, he was nearly knocked over by the revelation that he could awaken from the nightmare. Then she was in his arms and he no longer wanted to awaken.

She couldn't believe how tightly he held her. For a second, he'd actually lifted her from the ground. And then it happened, the tears started streaming down her cheeks and she realized that she'd silently been terrified that she might lose him to a prison sentence he didn't deserve...this time.

He stepped back and noticed her face flooded with tears. He held her cheeks with his hands and forced her to look at him. "It's okay, Alexis. You did it. We're okay." He pulled her close into his arms before he whispered, "We're going to be okay, baby."

"I didn't want to lose you," she managed to eek out, so that only he heard.

"I'm right here."

The clearing of a throat, Carly's, brought Alexis's focus back. She opened her eyes to see the familiar oak walls of the courtroom. Then she saw four eyes, belonging to Krisitina and Michael, staring at her and Sonny. "Sonny, go hug your kids."

As Sonny reluctantly left Alexis's side, she swatted the tears from her eyes. In a surprising move, she felt Carly's hand on her shoulder. "Thanks for making sure our kids didn't have to visit their dad in prison."

Alexis smiled until she saw Jax approach with a frown. "Carly, I need to speak with Alexis alone." Carly walked away without a word. Alexis knew Carly and Jax were still going through a rough patch and she knew Carly's continued support of Sonny was at the root of it.

Alexis cut him off before he could begin. "Look Jax, I know you're not happy with the way things turned out, but I had to represent Sonny for Kristina. Plus, I couldn't let Michael and Dante live with the guilt of feeling like they were the reason their father was locked up."

"Alexis, I was only going to tell you to be careful this time…with Sonny." Alexis looked at him blankly. He'd seen "it" building between Sonny and Alexis again and he could either lecture her about it or reassure her that he'd always be her safe place.

"What are you talking about _this time? _The trial is over."

"Yeah, but as much as I hate it, you and Sonny aren't. No matter how much as I hate him, I love you. So, if you need me…I'm here."

"I have no plans to begin a relationship with Sonny."

"Plans or no plans, the two of you are like magnets. So, just be careful." He pulled his friend into a hug. It surprised him to find she was shaking. They were interrupted by a waiting Sam. As soon as he released her from his embrace, Sam hugged her tightly.

"Mom, I'm so proud of you. Sonny's always said you were the best and you were amazing." Something about hearing her eldest daughter express pride in her work almost made the tears come back. She held her tightly until Kristina and finally Sonny joined the hug.

Soon, Carly, announced that the entire "family" was heading to Kelly's to celebrate Sonny's new found freedom. Alexis couldn't help smiling as she noticed Carly's reluctance to relinquish Jason's arm to Sam. About the same time she realized that Sonny remained at her side.

"Are you comin'?"

"Um, sure. I just want to get my thoughts…and my paperwork together." She looked down, terrified at the thought of looking into his eyes. "You go on without me."

"Yeah, okay." He headed toward the door. Every fiber of his being yelled at him to stay and to refuse to let Alexis build a new wall between them, but he had to respect her feelings. She meant too much to him for him to do anything else.

Moments later, in the sanctity of the empty courtroom, Alexis let all of her emotions flood to the surface. After waiting twenty-seven hours for the verdict, she realized how close she'd come to losing the man she loved. And she honestly didn't know what was worse: nearly losing Sonny, realizing she loved him or worst of all knowing that he probably loved her back. For the first time since Kristina was conceived there was no one and nothing between them except for who they were. He was a mobster and as much as she wanted him out of the mob, she was fairly certain there would be no such escape. And she was a Yale and Oxford educated Cassadine lawyer. Her entire life she'd fought to escape danger only to fall for the most dangerous man on the East Coast.

Dropping her head into her hands, she allowed the tears to fall once more. _Why couldn't she get Sonny out of her heart?_ She knew what she had to do this time. Rising to her feet, she turned to face the door. Much to her surprise, she saw Sonny standing there.

Sonny realized he could no longer afford the luxury of leaving their lives solely in Alexis's hands. He'd come back to tell her exactly what she meant to him and that he would not give up on her…until he saw her there. He could tell she was emotionally wrought and he was suddenly unsure about dumping more on her. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." Her left hand bolted her to counsel table where she'd been sitting just seconds before. "I thought you were on your way to Kelly's."

He approached her slowly. "In the spirit of what just happened here, I decided I didn't want to leave without delivering my own closing argument."

"Oh?" Alexis raised an eyebrow. A half-smile formed on her mouth. She straightened her back. "Please proceed."

"I want to be with you and you want to be with me. I'll do whatever it takes." He went silent.

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, I'm not giving up."

Her newfound steadiness surprised her. "Is that it?"

"Hey, you're the one who's good with words." He winked at her.

"I hate it when you're charming." She chuckled.

In an effort to be even more charming, he titled his head to the side and punctuated his smile with a very deep set of dimples.

She poked her fingers at his dimples. "Ah, pulling out the big guns…er, forget I just said guns."

"Quit stalling, counselor," his voice dragged slowly. "What's the verdict?"

Rising to her feet, she brought her body close to his. Without a word, she brushed her lips against his. Soon, her hands were in his hair and she was pulling him deeper into the kiss. She wanted him. She'd wanted him for years, maybe, without knowing it she'd wanted him her entire life. They stumbled backward until they hit counsel table; the impact caused them to separate momentarily.

Though they were separate Alexis kept her hands on him as she slipped his jacket from his shoulders and she dutifully released the buttons on his shirt from their holes. Sonny tried to catch his breath as he looked at her. He rubbed his mouth where her lips had been and he smiled. She rose slightly from the table, kissed him on his neck and then nipped at his ear. She whispered seductively, "Why are you smiling?"

Saying Alexis surprised him, would be an understatement. Somehow, she always managed to surprise him. It was one of the reasons he loved her. That was a revelation he'd had months ago. "I kind of expected you to play harder to get."

"That can be arranged." She leaned her hands back on the table.

"Uh-uh," he shook his head, "no." Now, it was his turn to ravage her. He pinned her against the table locking her in his place with his body and arms. His mouth crashed upon hers and his hands began to reacquaint themselves with her body. He was so lost in her that he barely registered Sam and Jason's voices.

"Sonny?"

"Mom?"


	4. Chapter 4

_Hi all. This is the last chapter of this series. I hope you enjoy. As always replies are appreciated._

**New Beginnings**

Sonny spied Alexis across the crowded Kelly's dining room. She'd run from him, emotionally, not physically, after Jason and Sam interrupted them in the courtroom. Part of Alexis's reluctance to speak about what happened was probably based on Sam's refusal to now leave her side. Based on their own sordid past, he was certain he could add Samantha to the list of people who wouldn't want to see him and Alexis together. During the limo ride over, he felt Sam's eyes burrowing into his forehead. The similarity between mother and daughter was so evident to him sometimes; and yet, there was a part of him that kicked himself daily for not noticing it immediately.

_His mind wandered to the courtroom where he'd kissed Alexis, leaned her back on counsel table and gone so far as to have her half-way out of her shirt before…_

Jason interrupted his thoughts. "It might be easier to go talk to Alexis."

He frowned at Jason as he thought it might be easier if Jason quit interrupting his moments with Alexis, including the imaginary ones. Still, he knew Jason hadn't been a purposeful irritant, so he simply sighed and said, "I don't want to scare her off."

"From what I saw in the courtroom, Alexis doesn't scare easily. She's tough. Besides she's still here after Sam and I caught you and Alexis with her shirt off."

"Yeah, speaking of that, I saw you checking her out. That can't happen again, Jase."

Jason ruffled his brow in an attempt to look confused. The truth was, he _had_ _noticed_ that Alexis still had a penchant for wearing sexy lingerie as she had in the poster that circulated so many years ago. Still, he would rather not mention to either Sonny or Sam that he'd caught an eyeful. Admittedly though, he was now very grateful that he and Sam had reunited and that genetics played a large part in aging.

Carly interrupted what was quickly becoming an awkward moment between Sonny and Jason. "Congratulations." She engulfed Sonny in a hug before retreating, as always to Jason's side. "I'm so glad we can put all of this behind us."

"Yeah, me too." Sonny looked beyond Carly toward Alexis and the dining room.

Sonny's distance was not lost on Carly. "Why are you so distracted?" She followed his eyes to Alexis who was now talking with Robin and Diane. "Oh no…you've gotta be kidding me. Sonny! Of all the women in this town you want to be with Alexis?"

He avoided Carly's now piercing gaze. "The two of you get along now."

Carly pushed her hands on to her hips. "We barely tolerate each other."

"Kind of like me and Candyboy…guess the shoe's on the other foot now."

"Ha, ha," Carly snarked. "Alexis just saved your butt. You know what you're feeling has more to do with gratitude than anything else."

"Leave it alone, Carly." Jason deadpanned. Sonny was finally ready to admit that he wanted Alexis. Anyone who looked carefully enough at either of them could see there was always something between them, bubbling beneath the surface.

"Fine." Carly looked near the jukebox where she saw Alexis now talking to Jax. Alexis's close relationship with Jax still secretly irked her, particularly now that she and Jax were struggling to get along. "Care to dance?"

"Sure. Right after I dance with my lawyer."

In the corner of the dining room, about a foot from the jukebox, Alexis listened dutifully to her friend. She sighed as Jax continued to ramble about how Sonny was a bad influence on Michael and Morgan. "Didn't we already have this talk?"

"No, we talked about how you should be careful now that Corinthos has designs on you. Now we're talking about how he's jeopardizing my stepsons' futures." Alexis narrowed her eyes at him, which caused him to laugh.

She crossed her arms protectively in front of her body. "Besides if it makes you feel any better, Sam already gave me the "beware of Sonny and his intentions" speech…so, we're good."

"Then why is he walking over here?"

"Because maybe he knows this time, I'm only listening to my heart."

Sonny walked past them both the jukebox where he carefully selected the song assigned to C2. Then he moved to where Jax and Alexis stood and he obviously ignored Jax. "Hey," his voice graveled, his attention directed solely at Alexis.

"Hey yourself." She smiled at him shyly.

"Care to dance?"

Alexis tilted her head then exposed a dimple. "Why not, it's what we do best."

He couldn't help laughing; and yet, the laughter disappeared the second he took her hand. He kissed the back of it before he brought it to his cheek. They stood on the small square of the dance floor in front of the jukebox like a couple of teenagers. The music began to play as she brought her head to his shoulder. He whispered in her ear, "They're playing your song."

_Halo (by Beyonce and Ryan Tedder)_

_Remember those walls I built_

_Well baby they're tumbling down_

_And they didn't even put up a fight_

_They didn't even make a sound_

_I found a way to let you in _

_But I never really had a doubt_

_Standing in the light of your halo_

_I got my angel now_

_It's like I've been awakened_

_Every rule I had you breaking_

_It's the risk that I'm taking_

_I ain't never gonna shut you out_

_Everywhere I'm looking now _

_I'm surrounded by your embrace_

_Baby, I can see your halo_

_You know you're my saving grace_

_You're everything I need and more_

_It's written all over your face_

_Baby, I can feel your halo_

_Pray it won't fade away._

_I can feel your halo_

_I can see your halo_

Alexis was the first to speak, "So, I guess we should talk about what happened at the courthouse today."

"Yeah, I got a second chance." He deepened his dimples as he peered into her eyes.

"I wasn't talking about the trial."

A chuckle escaped him, "Neither was I."

She socked his arm. "You are so arrogant."

"You like me that way." He pulled her more tightly into his arms and once more she rested her head on his shoulder. After a minute or so, he whispered, "You do like me don't you?"

It was a conversation that took her back to the morning after Kristina was conceived; so, she answered the same way she had that morning. "I tolerate you."

He couldn't stop laughing. For the first time since he was a teen, his life felt like it held endless possibilities. "So, are we really going to do this…you know, us?"

"As long as we take things slowly." For a moment, their eyes connected them. "Can you do slow, Corinthos?"

"Better than a snail." He twirled her before pulling her back into his arms and back into their shared trance.

Sam had seen just about enough. Since she'd been in town, Sonny had gone through women like she'd gone through shoes. It didn't help that she was one of those women. And though she knew it was totally hypocritical after all the lectures she'd given her mother about letting her live her own life, she intended to put a stop to what seemed to be an increasingly romantic dance. After taking one step forward, she felt a strong grasp on her arm.

Jason pulled her into his own embrace. "Leave them alone. Trust me when I tell you that Sonny and Alexis have had enough interruptions to last them a lifetime."

Sam watched her mother and Sonny dance and they were clearly oblivious to the rest of the world. Alexis looked calm and contented and Sonny was actually laughing. "Okay Jason, you win. No more interruptions…tonight."


End file.
